Osborne Park

Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher and elected member of the Perth Road Board. It contains the City of Stirling's largest employer, West Australian Newspapers.

History

Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir and land along Wanneroo Road and who was elected to the City of Stirling's predecessor, the Perth Road Board, in 1875.

Osborne Park was part of an original crown grant of 6,020 acres given to T. R. C. Walters in 1840. After the death of Walters in 1874, William Osborne bought part of his estate, which included the area now known as Osborne Park.

Many residents of Osborne Park at the beginning of the 20th Century were Chinese market gardeners who provided vegetables for the metropolitan area. Italian settlers continued the agricultural tradition in the area, utilising the swampland with its peaty soils and abundant fresh water.

Osborne Park gradually transformed into a residential suburb in the years following World War II, and the area later began to incorporate industrial uses. By the 1980s, industry had become dominant in most of Osborne Park, with only the northeastern area remaining predominantly residential.

Residential development

Residential development was relatively dispersed in Osborne Park prior to the 1950s, with a single node of housing along Main Street. After the 1950s housing construction began in the eastern sector of Osborne Park, though most remaining dwellings date from the 1960s and 1970s.

Houses are generally single detached brick and tile dwellings, though there are some character houses of timber construction interspersed throughout the area.

Numerous unit developments have appeared more recently and are built in a range of modern styles and materials.

Community development

The Osborne Park industrial area contains numerous showrooms, retail outlets and offices. It is also a significant employment centre for Perth's northern suburbs. The most recent addition to the industrial area has been Herdsman Business Park, which houses a range of commercial developments including the City's largest employer—West Australian Newspapers.

Within the residential areas of Osborne Park there are a number of small recreational parks. Herdsman Lake also provides a large area of open space, which is used by both local and regional residents. Herdsman Lake is the suburb's largest park, and is an important active and passive regional recreation area as well as a wildlife sanctuary.

The locality contains several privately owned recreational facilities, including gymnasiums and indoor sporting centres. Osborne Primary School is located in the centre of the suburb's residential area.

The recently refurbished Main Street commercial centre is one of the suburb's most attractive features and brings people from all over Perth to dine at its many multi-cultural and traditional cuisine restaurants and cafes and shop in a wide range of specialty stores.